Category: Italian Grammar

Italian reflexive verbs, a simple subject that can sometimes confuse even advanced learners!

Simply put, a reflexive verb is a verb conjugated with reflexive pronouns. We call them reflexive because, in most cases, the action performed by the subject reflects on the subject: I’m enjoying myself, mi diverto.

In Italian these verbs are quite common, and you are likely to encounter them early on because many verbs that describe our daily routine are reflexive: alzarsi, lavarsi, pettinarsi, and so on.

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The subjunctive is the most elegant mood of the Italian language, and at some point you need to at least be able to identify it when you hear it. If you can also use it correctly, then you will be well on your way to fluency. This article will introduce all you need to know on the Italian subjunctive mood.

What is the subjunctive mood?

What is the subjunctive mood – il congiuntivo? Il congiuntivo congiunge – the subjunctive joins two clauses. Most of the times (but not always!), you will find it in a dependent clause, a statement that is connected to another one by the conjunction (congiunzione) CHE, that or which.

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Italian has several past tenses, but the passato prossimo and the imperfetto are the two most common ones. The imperfetto does not exist in English, but it can be translated using the past simple or the past continuous. The passato prossimo is a compound tense, similar to the English present perfect, but it can also be translated with the past simple. How do we choose between one or the other?

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What is all the fuss about essere and avere in Italian? Why do we bring up this topic so often in our grammar lessons? Essere and avere have their own meanings, be and have, but they are also used to form compound tenses.

What is a compound tense? The English present perfect, for example: I have done. Have is an auxiliary here, it helps or supports the verb to do. English has many auxiliaries, but to form compound tenses it uses have. In Italian, instead, we can use have, avere, or be, essere. So we say Io ho fatto and Io sono andato. We cannot say *Io ho andato, it would sound awful! But how to choose? There are a few rules that can help us remember.

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